So I've decided that I'm going to take the December test no matter what. I figure, if I somehow make it with at least 150-153 I'll be happy and I'll just pray for Southwestern Law (here in Los Angeles)..... I know about the debt and the low quality of the school and its lack of opportunities but I just want to get my foot in the door and be back in school, filled with purpose. (and besides, apparently its not bad for entertainment law, which might be fun....)

And if I don't make that range, at least, I'll have had some experience as to how test day really is, and I can go find some employment while I figure out a new study plan\save up for a class.

Anyway, I took some recent tests (65,52, and I believe 62) and I have plateaued at 147; I just can't seem to beat this number.

Furthermore, whenever I start taking the test I immediately get bored\drained; can't tell which one. Whichever it is, I feel it by about Question 8-11 of the first section.

I get reinvigorated and filled with purpose when Section 2 is a Logic Game, then Section 3 quickly goes back to LR.

Its not so much the difficulty of the questions; its just the draining feeling. Maybe I should go to a library and try it out?

There's a certain mindset that I just seem to forget during the test, but for some reason, and knowing me, I feel it will all fall into place on Test Day, with the adrenaline pumping and it being Zero Hour and all. (although something tells me I'm not the first person to say that, and get boned on test day....)

So basically, I'm asking if

1. Anybody has any psychological\concentration tips? Its very easy to lose track of time and sanity and purpose and patience in that first section.... you go too long on one question and then suddenly you're rushing. I find myself not reading questions clearly enough because I seem to be losing interest\getting bored, barely halfway through LR and sometimes its a chore getting through RC 3 or 4. I'm convinced that even a minor application of some good advice can mean the difference between that 147 and getting into Southwestern with 5-6 more points... (either that or bubbling in all C's whatever question I leave blank lol)

2. I use an electronic egg timer during practice, but I know I can't use one during the LSAT. Will this affect me on Test Day? How did you guys do it? Using an awesomely convenient timer on the LSAT and then having to use an analog watch is quite a leap down... any good methods around this would be great.

3. I'm going to do Preptests 53-61 (minus the one or two I haven't done) which are in the 10 New LSATs book, in order to stay as up to date as possible until next Saturday.... would doing older ones be advantageous? I can maybe try getting my hands on some newer ones; would that be worth it?

It really sucks having to worry about all this LSAT crap whenever its Thanksgiving and I should be kicking back and planning Black Friday adventures. lol

If you are hoping for a 150, you have not even mastered the most basic, fundamental elements of the LSAT and you should absolutely not be going anywhere near an actual exam administration any time in the next year.

If you get bored and/or tired eight questions in (which should be taking you about 6 minutes), what in the name of everything holy are you going to do when faced with 100 pages of incredibly boring reading every night? What are you going to do on a 4-hour issue-spotter exam?

Insert "obligatory argument urging you to not borrow money to go to a school at that level" here.

Re: TimerI used an analog watch and reset it to 12:00 at the beginning of every section so I knew exactly how much time i had left out of the allotted 35 minutes instead of having to count/calculate how much time i had left if i just let the clock run normally.

Re: Psychological TipsI'm not sure why this helped me but for some reason I did better when I did each section backwards. So i started with question 25 or whatever the last question was and worked backwards to #1. Maybe it's psychological, maybe it was just coincidence but it's the only psychological tip I can think of minus just taking a break from the LSAT for a few months altogether.

Re: StaminaI'm not sure why you're getting drained by Question #8...or why logic games seem to give you a sense of purpose. This just seems like a deeper focus issue you have. You'll have to fix that by taking a lot of drill problems/practice tests to build up your tolerance and focus.

I don't want to be a dick but... you have an awful long way to go. There's no way you'll be ready by December. Cancel it or push the test date if you can.

It sounds like you have a mental barrier that needs to be addressed before you can even begin to effectively study for the LSAT. I was going to say ADHD, but then again you just said you're bored. Rethink your life, your goals, and your plans. Perhaps law isn't suited for you.

How did/how do you manage studying for college? There must have been at least one class or exam where you were forced to sit down and study for at least a couple of hours. Tap into that energy/experience and recreate it. But do that seven times a week. Or at least five.

Have you ever worked a job? Perhaps you can try to tap into that experience instead.

There isn't a "magical" mindset people have when studying. Actually there is. It's called being committed. Or you can call it will power. Except this isn't unique to studying. Look yourself in the mirror. Be brutally honest with yourself: "How much effort am I actually putting into this?" And then slap your face. There's your wake up call.

archieg wrote:Its not so much the difficulty of the questions; its just the draining feeling.

Stop giving yourself bullshit excuses. You're currently scoring at 147. You are obviously having trouble with the difficulty of the questions. I realize I'm beginning to sound more and more like an asshole, but you remind me of those kids in high school that would fuck around, get Ds, and then say "pssh, it's only cause I didn't try. I could easily score an A if I wanted to." Please do yourself a favor and "try." Please do yourself a favor and get that "A."

archieg wrote:Anyway, I took some recent tests (65,52, and I believe 62)

You've taken three tests. That's a very small sample size FYI. It's not uncommon for people to plateau or dip for a couple of tests. If it makes you feel any better, this is most likely not the "worst plateau ever."

archieg wrote:There's a certain mindset that I just seem to forget during the test, but for some reason, and knowing me, I feel it will all fall into place on Test Day, with the adrenaline pumping and it being Zero Hour and all.

Do not go into the test thinking that an adrenaline kick = my score + 10 points. It is far more likely that you will actually score a couple points below your PT average on test day due to anxiety, stress, pressure, etc.

archieg wrote:I just want to get my foot in the door and be back in school, filled with purpose.

Sounds more like you don't know what to do with your life than you want to go to law school. Go find your purpose. There may be a chance it is not law.

If you are dead set on law, pick yourself up, stop giving yourself bullshit excuses, grow a pair, and man the fuck up. I know I sound harsh, and I apologize, but sometimes you need a kick in the nuts to wake up.

Kobe misses his buzzer beater, and the Lakers lose the game. Do you think Kobe rounds up his team mates in the locker room and says: "It's okay guys, we're just here to have fun right? As long as we're exercising and having a blast, it's all good." Or do you think Kobe says: "Alright guys. Time to stop dicking around. Longer practices from here on out until we secure the Conference Championship. I know we tried, but we're just going to have to try harder."

I hope everything works out for you. When you're ready to actually start studying for the LSAT, visit the guides stickied on the top of this forum. Read every single one of them. That should give you a good start. After you've done that, and after you've done some studying, but want some specific advice, or just some clarification of things you didn't quite understand, come back and ask us.

This is a terrible attitude to have, OP. You can't just shrug your shoulders and hope for the best. That's not how the LSAT works, and that's not how law school works. Take a year off to study; try the test next October. If you're worrying about reaching 150, you are not ready.

Dude, opt out of December. You need to actually study for the test before you're ready to do timed Preptests, and you need to do a bunch of those before you're ready for the real exam. Just "getting your foot in the door" is not such a good plan when it comes to law school, not with the amount of debt involved and the current legal market.

The good news is that you've barely scratched the surface of the LSAT, so there's a LOT of room for improvement. The bad news is you have a long way to go - at least a few months of disciplined studying.

archieg wrote:(and besides, apparently its not bad for entertainment law, which might be fun....)

Great advice from everyone else.

However, I wanted to chime in - pretty much every school is bad for entertainment law. There are like 3 positions that open up every year in that field, and people fight tooth and nail for them. The only person I know who actually ended up in that field was #1 in his class at HLS, had experience in the area, and still had to fight like crazy to get the position. If you're not 100% dedicated to going to a top school (since that field is extremely prestige based), being at the top of your class, and fighting hard to get a job there, it's almost certainly not going to happen.

OP, opt out of December, then just buy these and do them slowly. Take as much time as you can. I guarantee if you do all of them, 160 will be nothing. Don't even worry about timing. After each problem, analyze why each incorrect answer is wrong and why the right answer is right.